racketboy.com

So in a few days we'll be playing Yakuza Kiwami 2 which is the only game besides 3 I haven't played yet. I started with 5 when it was a free PS+ game after dabbling in Yakuza Dead Souls and while 5 had a convoluted story that made me hate both Haruka and Diago (mostly Diago) I stuck with it and got 0 and that's when I fell in love with the Series. 0 is by and far the best game in the series. So I thought we'd discuss the series, and what we want from Shin Yakuza. I'll also breifly talk about the Main Characters.

Yakuza 0- The "Kiryu/Majima" Origin story. So much blood letting over a plot of land that would become a series landmark. Some of the more interesting characters in the series
Batshit crazy side stories a great fighting system, some classic arcade games, the most addictive mini game in the series in the form of Majima's Caberet club. Also some of the best music in the series and all twists and turns some of which set up Yakuza 1 and others have cameos from characters you meet later on. My Cousin and I are Kiryu and Nishiki, and I need to get him into the series. Only complaint, the final boss is a disappointing one I didn't know who to expect but it wasn't him.

Yakuza 1/Kiwami- I love Majima I love Mark Hammel...I don't love Mark Hammel as Majima. I only played a small bit of Yakuza 1 on PS2 but the voice acting pulled me right out of it. It would be another decade before I tried again. BUT Kiwami fixed all of that by being a sequel to Yakuza 0. The way they fleshed out Nishiki in Kiwami was great and really made him a sympathetic character rather than an irredeemable psychopath. We meet Haruka who is a PAIN IN THE ASS in the post game content. More sub stories some picking up from Yakuza 0 and Majima Anywhere is something I didn't get far with but wish I did because I love Majima.

Yakuza 2- didn't play, and I'm waiting on Kiwami 2. Played the demo, more of the same greatness. I LOVE that Virtual on is in the Arcade. I'm mixed on how I'll feel about the story because we're introduced to Daigo here and I hate Daigo.

Yakuza 3- can't comment haven't played.

Yakuza 4- I like Yakuza 4 the story isn't amazing it doesn't have the twists the other games have but Akiyama is super likeable and cool, Saejima has a harder edge to him than Kiryu and Tanimura is somebody I wish would return but we all know he won't.

Yakuza 5- IS A MESS, it was my first full game and while I did like it the story is the weakest in the series there are a ton of characters I just do not like including playable baseball player Shinada. This game made me hate Haruka a lot of people would have lived if she just listened. But it's not all bad, Saejima's story while a retread of 4 did it better than 4. Akiyama is here again so that's good and some of the stuff Kiryu does early in the game is hilarious and it makes me wish for a Crazy Taxi 4 with him as one of the characters. Plus for the first time we have actual games in the arcade with Virtua Fighter 2. Good stuff all around. OH and BABA,. Baba is one of the best side characters in the entire series.

Yakuza 6- Yakuza 6 did a good job cleaning up Yakuza 5's Mess. Crazy baby Daddy drama. Beat Takeshi is here. It's back to just Kiryu there are the twists and turns and a pretty silly culmination. The Final Boss is a bastard. Yuta and Nagumo are characters so good I wish they were playable, ESPECALLY Nagumo. It wraps up Kiryu's arc nicely but left me wanting more. Around here was when I realized, Daigo is kind of an idiot and unfit to lead the Tojo Clan that's one game he betrays the Tojo, another he runs away and here where he just can't sense a traitor in the midst.

I didn't have room to talk about the characters but that's my thoughts on each main line game.

Anybody else think Onishima from Jet Set Radio and Date are the same person?
Anybody else think Daigo is too incompetent to lead the Tojo Clan?
Favorite game and character?

Yes
Yes
0 and it's a toss up between Akiyama and Baba.

Omega spoilers.

I don't think I spoiled anything I kept it as Vague as possible.

Dikdikvandik wrote:I don't think I spoiled anything I kept it as Vague as possible.

Putting them behind spoiler tags would still be nice for those of us (like myself) who have only played a few but not all and want to go in blind still.

Ok I deleted the ONLY give away plot thread for Yakuza 6 even though the trailers talk about it.

I really like Yakuza~
I picked up the 1 & 2 HD collection for PS3 off of Play-Asia a couple years ago and played through them back to back. Granted that version only came out in Japan, so I know the series more as Ryu Ga Gotoku than as Yakuza (which also means that I got to play Yakuza 1 with the wonderful original VA <3 ). It really is remarkable just how much of a step up 2 is from 1 in terms of writing, even though they're written by the same guy (even though he wouldn't go on to write the other ones, which I imagine is why they're less serious). Those are the only two I've beaten though. I've started the samurai-era Ryu Ga Gotoku: Kenzan! as well as the Fist of the North Star game they made, Hokuto Ga Gotoku (which is getting a US release ), but just haven't been able to stick with them.

I do own just about all the other games other than 0, 6, and the other samurai-era game, so I do intend to go through them eventually. Just haven't gotten in the mood for it yet

I can speak some Japanese and understand some but I can't read it at all. So the PSP spin offs and Samurai Spinoffs aren't something I've played.

I do have the Hokuto no Ken game on order, I might grab Discotek's SD Blu Ray set of Fist of the north star to go with it.

So the next game Shin Ryu Ga Gotoko is pretty much a lock for over here hopefully we get 3-5's PS4 ports over here too I'd replay them.
But there is a thing about The next game that bugs me. Yakuza 6's ending Kind of sets up to be the new protagonist. But we're getting an all new character Ichiban. There's a video on You Tube that talks about him I like his back story, I like his design BUT... I can list a ton of characters we already have that could take over as the new Protagonist. Baba from 5, Saejima, A bunch of people from 6. I don't know if Ichiban will capture people's hearts that same way Kiryu did. Some people INSIST the Series is Maybe in the pipeline we'll get something where you can play the whole game as Saejima. There's more to be done with him.
At the very least I hope Ichiban and Akiyama meet up.

Dikdikvandik wrote:I do have the Hokuto no Ken game on order, I might grab Discotek's SD Blu Ray set of Fist of the north star to go with it.

Duuuuuude, even from just playing the first couple chapters, I can say with certainty that that game RULES. It's definitely a safe pre-order if you like FotNS and Yakuza already, or even just Yakuza. I really splurged and got the special edition that comes with the DLC that lets you play as Kiryuu, and omg if it wasn't one of the better decisions to splurge on a special edition that I've ever made

Sega has a history of great Hokuto no Ken games anyway. My most wanted PS2 Sega Ages game is Hokuto no Ken, Black Belt was my JAM back in the day.

yakuza 0 > 4 > 2 > kenzan! > the rest >> dead souls

that's all i got! one of my favorite series though.